Hekym
September 18th, 2006, 07:11 PM
Well, I just watched Death and EoE for the first time. I had previously wanted to write a big post about why Ritsuko is not a horrible human being, but watching this I realized that there is a basic assumption made, proposed by Yui, about all the characters in the series: that none of them are fundamentally bad (Except I have trouble viewing Naoko this way. Doesn't her name mean Honesty? Is that supposed to be some kind of sick pun? whatever, maybe she was just a very psychologically imbalanced character). No, not even Gendo, who I'd never thought I would feel sorry for. I suppose this is critical to understanding them all. (Also, understanding that the English dub sucks is crucial- there's a remarkably different dynamic between Ritsuko and Gendo in the Japanese and English dub, for example.) So it seems as though the whole series and the movie are a prayer to understand other human beings, according to Kaowru, who seems to have a tendency to narrate the story. And a remarkable prayer at that, a bit like the Hymn to Joy that shows up so many times around Kaowru. It seems pretty blatant that everyone is slated to return from the LCL (hence the floating bodies- I guess it was Shinji's wish) and I suppose being in Instrumentality helps everyone become enlightened about the rest of the human race somewhat. It does seem as though Anno was holding back an afterthought and restricted his conclusion to addressing Shinji's insecurities, so I guess that the postponed thesis will be addressed in the last of the new movies. Presumably something about the effects of Instrumentality, or maybe something new.
Anyway, who are these five women Anno gives his thanks to after all my favorite characters die? There was a live action sequence of women at the beginning of Air whose actions reminded me of characters in the series. One was wearing a lab coat and drinking out of a mug, for example, and another was wearing a red shirt and taking off clothing, as I recall. So, who are these women? Are the flaws and good sides of the five major women (Rei, Asuka, Misato, Ritsuko, Yui) based on these individual women? Can understanding these characters in this light have some potential for affecting our comprehension of the dynamics and individuals involved in this series?
PS What is up with the women besides Yui that Gendo sleeps with? Naoko's hair looks JUST LIKE YUI's, and Yui's clothing swtiches from a pink shirt to Ritsuko's shirt during Gendo's Instumentality scene. Did Gendo start this trend because he missed Yui and Naoko looked like her? Clearly he has a thing about Rei, and everyone notices who she looks like.
Anyway, who are these five women Anno gives his thanks to after all my favorite characters die? There was a live action sequence of women at the beginning of Air whose actions reminded me of characters in the series. One was wearing a lab coat and drinking out of a mug, for example, and another was wearing a red shirt and taking off clothing, as I recall. So, who are these women? Are the flaws and good sides of the five major women (Rei, Asuka, Misato, Ritsuko, Yui) based on these individual women? Can understanding these characters in this light have some potential for affecting our comprehension of the dynamics and individuals involved in this series?
PS What is up with the women besides Yui that Gendo sleeps with? Naoko's hair looks JUST LIKE YUI's, and Yui's clothing swtiches from a pink shirt to Ritsuko's shirt during Gendo's Instumentality scene. Did Gendo start this trend because he missed Yui and Naoko looked like her? Clearly he has a thing about Rei, and everyone notices who she looks like.